• Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma Co. Ltd., of Mountain View, Calif., has entered an option agreement with SanBio Inc., also of Mountain View, to co-develop a new cell therapy for stroke recovery. Under the agreement, DSP received an option for exclusive U.S. and Canadian marketing rights to SB623. An allogeneic cell product derived from bone marrow stromal cells, SB623 is being developed by SanBio for disabilities caused by stroke for which there are currently no effective therapies. The company expects to exercise the option based on results of a Phase I/IIa trial already in preparation. The DSP group already had been developing business in North America through its subsidiary Sepracor Inc., soon to be renamed Sunovion Pharmaceuticals Inc.

• Life Technologies Corp., of Carlsbad, California, completed its acquisition of Guilford, Conn.-based Ion Torrent Systems Inc. for $375 million in cash and stock. The deal, first reported in August, gives Life Technologies rights to Ion's chip-based sequencing technology. The first product using that technology will be the Personal Genome Machine for midscale sequencing projects.

• New American Therapeutics Inc., of Cranford, N.J., has acquired all U.S. rights to manufacture, market and sell the antiviral Denavir owned by Basel, Switzerland-based Novartis AG. Denavir is a topical antiviral treatment indicated for the treatment of recurrent herpes labialis in adults and children 12 years of age and older.

• NovaBiotics Ltd., of London, is partnering with Isogenica Ltd., of Cambridge, UK, to develop new applications for NovaBiotics' anti-infective drugs. As part of the agreement, NovaBiotics will work with Isogenica on two research projects, one concerning peptide selection and the other will be peptide maturation with the aim of expanding the company's product portfolio.

• PDL BioPharma Inc., of Incline Village, Nev., said that it has paid the Oct. 1 special dividend payment of 50 cents per share to all stockholders owning shares of PDL as of Sept. 15, the record date. As previously announced, the conversion rate for the company's 2 percent convertible senior notes due Feb. 15, 2012 was adjusted to 140.571 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount or $7.11 per share.

• Peptimmune Inc., of Somerville, Mass., said that it has filed a "technically focused" citizen petition, requesting that the FDA reject any application for a generic version of multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone (glatiramer acetate injection, Teva Pharmaceuticals Ltd.). Peptimmune stated that "Copaxone is a prodrug, which makes the demonstration of bioequivalence very difficult for a purported generic copy." Any generic version of the drug should be supported by comparative PK and PD studies, the company said.

• Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd., of Raleigh, N.C., said that the FDA has extended its target action date for completing a priority review of Xifaxan (rifaximin) 550-mg tablets as a potential treatment of nonconstipation irritable bowel syndrome (Non-C IBS) and IBS-related bloating. The FDA has notified Salix that it requires additional time for review of the application and has extended the Dec. 7 target date by three months to March 7, 2011.

• Tasly Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., of Tianjin, China, and ProteoTech Inc., of Kirkland, Wash., have agreed to co-develop ProteoTech's small-molecule therapeutic, Exebryl-1, for the treatment of mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. Exebryl-1 has been shown to inhibit beta-amyloid protein aggregate formation in the brain, as well as disaggregate amyloid plaques that are already present. The alliance will focus on moving the development of Exebryl-1 through the regulatory process in both China and the U.S. Terms were not disclosed, but will include an up-front payment, development costs and research funding to ProteoTech. Tasly will gain rights for Exebryl-1 for China, and ProteoTech will retain rights for the U.S. and the rest of the world.

• Versartis Inc., of New York, on Monday presented preclinical data at the 5th International Congress of the GRS and IGF Society in New York that provides the basis for its upcoming Phase Ia trial of VRS-317 for growth hormone deficiency. VRS-317 is a once-monthly form of recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH). The data indicated that VRS-317 may be dosed at a lower total rhGH dose level once per month using a fine gauge needle, compared to the currently available daily rhGH products, while achieving the same biologic effects.

• Vivus Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., agreed to sell Muse (transurethran alprostadil), its marketed product for erectile dysfunction, to its European partner, Meda AB, of Stockholm, Sweden, for $23.5 million. The purchase price includes an up-front payment of $22 million, with a one-time milestone payment of $1.5 million based on future sales of Muse. Under the terms, Vivus employees affiliated with Muse, including the field sales force, are expected to join Meda. Vivus said the divestiture of Muse will allow the firm to focus on commercialization efforts for obesity drug Qnexa (phentermine/topiramate). That drug is under review, with a PDUFA date of Oct. 28, though an advisory panel recommended against approval earlier this year. (See BioWorld Today, July 19, 2010.)